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Saturday, July 26, 2014

1 Racing Mind 2014 Formula 1 Mid-Season Report: Sahara Force India

Photo Credit: Sahara Force India

Sahara Force India

Team Score: B

Nico Hulkenberg: B+

Sergio Perez: C+

Force India has been at the middle of
the Formula 1 running order for years with a chance at the occasional
podium. In 2014, the team is still not ready to fight for race
victories but does have consistent pace. Lucking out with the
Mercedes-Benz powerplant, the Force India operation also exercised
some clever tire strategy in races that has been favourable to their
finishing results. The team stands competitively in fifth place in
the constructors' points.

Force India's driver line-up was
completely revised for 2014 with two young pilots who can potentially
be future race winners. Continuing to show talent and consistency in
Formula 1 he showed last season at Sauber, Nico Hulkenberg has driven
the 27 Force India-Mercedes to a points-paying position in all 10
grand prix races so far (only him and Fernando Alonso can claim that
honour). Hulkenberg is still searching for his first career Formula 1
podium and it may likely come before the end of this season.
Departing from McLaren after an unfortunate outing with a slow car,
Sergio Perez has been aggressively trying to demonstrate his driving
was not the reason he was dismissed from the high-end operation. In
Bahrain, Perez captured a podium spot with a third place behind the
factory Mercedes-Benz cars. However, the 2014 season for the Mexican
driver also contains a number of mistakes including a high-profile
crash in the late stage of the Canadian Grand Prix resulting a grid
place penalty being levied against Perez.

Ingredients for Second-Half of 2014:
The customer Mercedes-Benz powerplant as well as the further
execution of imaginative tire strategies should continue to work for
the remainder of this season. A team that has neither been the
fastest nor the slowest, Force India should be in position to snatch
perhaps one or two podium positions in future races. With Hulkenberg
and Perez demonstrating immense talent, the biggest trouble for the
organization will be retaining either driver for an extended time in
the sport.